The Irish designer's new handbag line lauds the dizzying genius of composer John Cage

"I see handbags as compositions as well as objects," says the Irish-bred accessories designer Pauric Sweeney. A fitting notion for his Special Edition 16 collection, inspired by the avant-garde sound of composer and electronic music pioneer John Cage.

After stints as an architect, a furniture designer, and a ready-to-wear designer, Sweeney began making graphic clutches and purses in 2005, when he relocated from London to a palazzo in Florence to be closer to the tanneries in the area. Mixing up to 10 exotic skins—such as crocodile, alligator, stingray, and calfskin—on one piece, Sweeney created a patchwork of neoprenes and nylons for the Special 16 totes, perfectly in tune with the season's neon-bright palette. "The colors came out of my subconscious, I think—I am a child of the '80s, after all," he says. "But the method and the madness of the pattern mirrors Cage's volatile but measured sound in Imaginary Landscape No. 4, 1951." The set includes bubble-gum pink shoulder bags with triangular puzzle-piece embroidery and yummy liquid gold carryalls—a nod to Cage's futuristic style. "The idea of combining all those textures and colors is chaotic, but I think the overall effect is quite the opposite." We couldn't agree more.